CheapEats Ottawa restaurant guide blog

The Patty Debate

by andrea*

I'm a carnivore. There, I said it. In recent years my tastes have leaned towards the vegetarian side of things, but I still remain a meat eater. Bacon is the culprit! If it wasn't for bacon I might very well be a vegetarian.

When I go to The Works (the Richmond Road location is the one we frequent) I usually order a burger with a beef patty. There are many many burger varieties on the menu (40? 50?), and customers have their choice of patty: beef (organic or non-), chicken breast, ground turkey, portabello mushroom cap, or veggie.

On our last visit I decided I didn't need a ½ pound of beef forming a giant lump in my gut, so I took a leap of faith and ordered the "B.A.B" burger ($10.83 – and comes with tomato, raw onion and garlic sauce) avec le veggie patty and sweet potato fries. I had a long inner debate about the veggie patty. I knew that the beef would taste good, so should I risk it? Some veggie patties are made of a lentil/grain mixture and have the mouthfeel of a damp facecloth. Did I really want to eat a damp facecloth?

Well I was pleasantly surprised. The burger tasted great. And more importantly, I didn't walk away feeling heavy and bloated. The sweet potato fries were delicious. And I admit it - I did feel a tiny bit virtuous too. Next time I go back, I know what I'm going to order. Pssst. Did you know The Works does takeout too?

* [This post was written by Andrea Tomkins, a regular contributor to CheapEats Ottawa (where she is known as AT.) Andrea is an Ottawa-based writer, blogger and photographer. You can peek into her journal at  www.quietfish.com/notebook or read her other CheapEat posts here.]

Poutine or Pizza & Gravy?

My friends have been talking about it, but none of us had tried it, so Friday after just enough beer to bolster our courage and cleanse our taste buds... we headed over to House of Georgie to try their "Gravy Pizza".

Now, I've heard that there's a debate about where this new late-night food fad originated. Some say House of Georgie & Sorento's, and it was written up that way in Trendz magazine. But others say it really originated around the corner at Colonnade.

Either way, Gravy Pizza, Pizza & Gravy or just simply P&G was inspired by poutine. And if you are willing to stretch your imagination, you can see similarities - gravy, cheese, and some starchy substance to carry it to your mouth.

So, on Friday night we tried the House of Georgie's version.  I was surprised at how much better it was than I expected. The gravy and cheese was certainly reminiscent of poutine. The gravy and bready-dough was reminiscent of a hot chicken sandwich.

I'd love to try a Beckta version with each flavour refined to perfection, I think it could be outstanding.  But for now I'm sticking to poutine.

What about you? Fess up!
Have you tried it? Where'd you get it? What did you think?

Technorati tags: pizza and gravy, gravy pizza, house of georgie, colonnade pizza, sorento's, beckta, poutine, late night snacks, elgin street, cheapeats ottawa, ceot, cheapeats

Street Meat or Street Treats?

With the recent announcement of changes to Ontario's street food vendor regulations we may be seeing some great new options added to menus at hot dog carts and fry trucks around the city as of August 1st.

How cool would it be to pick up a Dosa on Sparks Street? Or an empanada from a vendor in Westboro? How about some BBQ corn, rubbed with lime and spice, in the market? Why not a street crepe at Lansdowne Park Farmer's Market?

I'll be interesting to see what changes this will make to what is actually available and whether street vendors will embrace this as much as the media (and I) want them too.

If they do, what would you like to see show up on their chalkboard menus? What are your favourite street meats and street treats?

 

Technorati tags: street treats, street meat, ottawa, street food vendor regulations, ontario, lansdowne park farmer's market

May 27th - Free Burger Day

Okay, okay, it's not officially a CheapEat because it's a huge national chain, but you can't get cheaper than free.

At all participating Harvey's in Ontario
FREE Original Hamburger
Sunday May 27, 2007
10am-3pm

More details

(Thanks for the heads up to Mike K.)

 

Technorati tags: Harvey's, hamburger, burgers, free food, food and drink, food, ontario